This invention relates to electronic mail systems, including electronic mail systems that are designed to reduce the incidence of errors in transmitting electronic mail.
Electronic mail (xe2x80x9ce-mailxe2x80x9d) is now extensively used as a business and professional tool. Although it was at first largely used in research and engineering circles to share technical information, as the reach of the Internet has expanded, so too have the uses for e-mail. Business people now commonly use it to negotiate and even enter into business transactions. Physicians, attorneys, and accountants, use it to communicate with their patients or clients. And government officials use it to communicate in their official capacities.
The use of e-mail for such tasks is not without risk. Ill-considered criticisms sent by e-mail within an organization or without (sometimes known as xe2x80x9cflamingxe2x80x9d) can be disruptive or damaging to the organization. Misdirected messages or messages that lack essential components (such as cc""s or file attachments) can create inefficiencies, either because multiple messages have to be sent to accomplish their original purpose or because recipients are subjected to redundant or unnecessary messages. Even worse, organizations may be subject to lawsuits by recipients alleging that they have been harassed, libeled, or discriminated against by the contents of e-mail messages sent by its employees. Carelessly drafted e-mail messages may create unintended contractual liabilities or bad will for an organization. Misrouted or misaddressed messages can divulge confidential business information, and may result in the permanent loss of trade secrets or other intellectual property rights.
As a result, a large number of corporate and governmental organizations have implemented e-mail use policies for their employees, and many of these organizations have also set up some type of employee e-mail monitoring procedure. But because of the amount of effort required, such procedures generally fall short of a detailed review of all messages sent by employees. Instead, an employee""s e-mail is often only carefully evaluated once there is some indication that his or her communications present a risk or have already created a problem.
Systems have also been proposed that detect individual words or phrases without human intervention. One of these systems filters e-mail messages to detect sexually explicit or otherwise objectionable language patterns, and returns any messages that include such patterns to the user""s in-box. But while these systems may be able to detect crude language usage or other potentially undesirable keyword patterns, language that is harassing or insulting, or that breaches an organization""s confidentiality or creates other business risks, can be quite subtle.
Moreover, both human and automated pattern monitoring can be completely ineffective when applied to individual messages. This is because any particular message may only be viewed as objectionable or otherwise problematic in view of the context of other communications. And these other communications are often not available to the software, or even a human reviewer. The use of e-mail by individuals or by employees of an organization therefore can still pose a substantial risk.
In one general aspect, the invention features an electronic mail system that includes an electronic mail utility with a message creation interface responsive to user input to create an electronic mail message. The system also includes a reconsideration prompting module that is operative to extract one or more intended information elements from the message and to present them to the user in a display area. A reconsideration prompting control allows the user to confirm reconsideration of the meaning of the intended information elements from the message before sending it, and a network interface is responsive to approved messages.
In preferred embodiments, the reconsideration module can be operative to extract one or more addressee identifiers from the message and to present them to the user, with the prompting control being operative to confirm reconsideration of the user""s selection of the addressees. The reconsideration module can be operative to extract one or more carbon copy recipient identifiers from the message and to present them to the user, with the prompting control being operative to confirm reconsideration of the user""s selection of the carbon copy recipients. The reconsideration module can be operative to extract one or more blind copy recipient identifiers from the message and to present them to the user, with the prompting control being operative to confirm reconsideration of the user""s selection of the blind copy recipients. The reconsideration module can be operative to extract one or more attachment identifiers from the message and to present them to the user, with the prompting control being operative to confirm reconsideration of the user""s selection of attachments corresponding to the attachment identifiers. The reconsideration module can be operative to present at least a part of the content of the attachments corresponding to the attachment identifiers. The reconsideration module can be operative to extract one or more potentially sensitive strings from the message and present them to the user, with the prompting control being operative to confirm reconsideration of the user""s selection of the potentially sensitive strings. The reconsideration module can be operative to select prompting actions based on an attribute of one or more recipient identifiers for the message. The reconsideration module can be operative to select prompting actions based on an attribute of one or more attachments to the message. The reconsideration module can be operative to select prompting actions based on a mismatch between one or more attributes of one or more of the attachments with one or more attributes of one or more recipient identifiers for the message. The reconsideration module can be operative to select prompting actions based on intended content in the message. The reconsideration module can be operative to select prompting actions based on the detection of potentially sensitive content in the message. The reconsideration module can be operative to select prompting actions based on a mismatch between attributes of one or more of the attachments with content in the message. The reconsideration module can be operative to select prompting actions based on a mismatch between attributes of one or more intended recipient identifiers for the message with content in the message. The reconsideration module can include a plurality of prompting controls each responsive to user input to confirm reconsideration of the meaning of one or more of the intended information elements from the message. The reconsideration module can be operative to delay reconsideration for a predetermined period of time. The reconsideration module can be operative to delay reconsideration for a user-selected period of time. The mail utility and the reconsideration module can be separate programs, with the reconsideration module being an application extension operative to interact with the mail utility. The reconsideration module can be responsive to a user profile to determine its prompting behavior. The system can include an administrative module operative to define different prompting behavior for the reconsideration module for different users. The administrative module can include a group control operative to select prompting behavior for the reconsideration module for groups of users. The electronic mail utility can include an addressing control responsive to user input to associate an address with the message and a completion control responsive to user input to indicate completion of the message, with the prompting module being responsive to the completion control.
In another general aspect, the invention features an electronic mailing method that includes steps of creating a message in response to user input, presenting one or more intended information elements to the user from the message created in the step of creating, and presenting a prompting control to the user to allow the user to confirm reconsideration of the meaning of the one or more intended information elements.
In a further general aspect, the invention features an electronic mail system that includes means for creating a message in response to user input, means for presenting one or more intended information elements to the user from the message created in the step of creating, and control means for confirming reconsideration of the meaning of the one or more intended information elements.
In another general aspect, the invention features an electronic mail system that includes an electronic mail utility including a message creation interface responsive to user input to create an electronic mail message. The system also includes a protection module responsive to the electronic mail utility and operative to interpret contents of one or more predetermined information fields from the message created using the electronic mail utility and to selectively prevent otherwise proper transmission of the message based on information in the information fields. In preferred embodiments the predetermined information fields can include both a recipient identifier and an attachment identifier.
In a further general aspect, the invention features an electronic mail system that includes an electronic mail utility with a message creation interface responsive to user input to create an electronic mail message. The system also includes a reconsideration prompting module including a reconsideration prompting control responsive to user input to confirm reconsideration before sending the message and an administrative module operative to define different prompting behavior for the reconsideration module for different users, with the prompting module being responsive to definitions created using the administrative module. A network interface is operatively connected to a network and responsive to messages approved by the reconsideration prompting module.
In another general aspect, the invention features an electronic mail system that includes an electronic mail utility including a message creation interface responsive to user input to create an electronic mail message and a user-programmable delay module having an initiation input responsive to a completion control for the electronic mail utility, a duration control responsive to user input, and a completion output. The system also comprises a reconsideration prompting module responsive to the completion output of the delay module and including a reconsideration prompting control responsive to user input to confirm reconsideration before sending the message. A network interface is operatively connected to a network and responsive to messages approved by the reconsideration prompting module.
In preferred embodiments, the user-programmable delay module can be programmable by an administrative user to mandate a delay of a predetermined minimum length. The user-programmable delay module may also be programmable by an end user.
In a further general aspect, the invention features an electronic mail system application extension that includes an interface to an electronic mail utility including a message creation interface responsive to user input to create an electronic mail message. The system also includes a reconsideration prompting module responsive to the electronic mail utility via the interface and responsive to user input, with the prompting module being operative to extract one or more intended information elements from the message created using the electronic mail utility and to present them to the user in a display area and including a reconsideration prompting control responsive to user input to confirm reconsideration of the meaning of the intended information elements from the message before sending the message.
In another general aspect, the invention features an electronic mail system application extension that includes an interface to an electronic mail utility including a message creation interface responsive to user input to create an electronic mail message. The system also includes a protection module responsive to the electronic mail utility via the interface and operative to interpret one or more predetermined information fields from the message created using the electronic mail utility and to selectively prevent otherwise proper transmission of the message based on information in the information fields.
In a further general aspect, the invention features an electronic mail system application extension that includes an interface to an electronic mail utility including a message creation interface responsive to user input to create an electronic mail message. The system also includes a user-programmable delay module having an initiation input responsive to a completion control for the electronic mail utility via the interface, a duration control responsive to user input, and a completion output. A reconsideration prompting module is responsive to the completion output of the delay module and includes a reconsideration prompting control responsive to user input to confirm reconsideration before sending the message.
In another general aspect, the invention features an electronic mail system application extension that includes an interface to an electronic mail utility including a message creation interface responsive to user input to create an electronic mail message. The system also includes a reconsideration prompting module responsive to the electronic mail utility via the interface and including a reconsideration prompting control responsive to user input to confirm reconsideration before sending the message. An administrative module is operative to define different prompting behavior for the reconsideration module for different users, with the prompting module being responsive to definitions created using the administrative module.
In a further general aspect, the invention features a machine-readable data memory comprising a prompting profile database that includes a plurality of prompting profiles that each include a plurality of reconsideration prompting option values for a particular mail system user. In preferred embodiments, values for the prompting options can include a disabled value, an enabled value, and a mandated value.
Systems according to the invention can permit an individual or an organization to set a prompt or series of prompts to require or permit the sender of an e-mail message to reconsider and confirm the correctness of, among other things, the persons to whom the message is addressed (including cc""s and blind cc""s), file attachments (including versions), potential spelling and grammar errors, and/or key words or phrases that might be viewed as sensitive by the recipient or by the sender""s organization (whether obscene, offensive, abusive, insulting, confidential, privileged, sensitive or otherwise objectionable or problematic, all as may be customized by the user). Further, systems according to the invention can permit an individual or an organization to set a prompt or series of prompts to require or permit the sender of an e-mail message to reconsider and confirm the tone and content of the entire message, with or without a mandatory or optional delay, before it is sent.
Systems according to the invention are particularly advantageous in that they can efficiently and effectively permit an individual to monitor himself or herself and can protect an organization from employee e-mail risk. Such protection is particularly effective because it is based on the knowledge of the individual most able to correct most transmission errors-the sender of the message. Because he or she is generally most familiar with the context of a message, the sender can quickly recognize errors that human or automated review could not. For example, while the sender might quickly recognize an incorrect version of a proposed bid, such a task might be impossible for a reviewer who was unfamiliar with the bid negotiations. And even if this contextual information were accessible, the task of detecting the error would usually be more difficult for the reviewer than for the sender, who is already familiar with the information.
The protection offered by systems according to the invention can also be precisely tailored to a particular user or organization. Organization-wide profiles can define prompting attributes that correspond to the types of errors that are characteristic to specific organizational functions. Group profiles can allow users to be prompted for the types of errors that they are likely to make, based on their responsibilities and the sensitivity of the information they work with. And individual profiles can permit each particular user to be prompted for the types of errors that he or she is most likely to commit, based on, for example, the types and frequency errors they have committed in the past. Moreover, some or all of the elements in these profiles can be made mandatory, while others are left to be selected by individual users based on their own habits and risk assessments. By combining these different levels of customization and preference, an individual or organization can put in place a highly tailored system that achieves a maximum degree of protection from risk.
This high degree of protection is available with a relatively low impact on existing or planned e-mail systems. Because systems according to the invention can be installed as plug-ins for existing mail systems, they do not require retraining or the reinstallation of other plug-ins. And such systems are useable in combination with other forms of monitoring, allowing an organization to reap the benefits of both measures.
Systems according to the invention are also particularly beneficial in that they can detect the types of errors that are often associated with e-mail. Although some potential liability is the result of deliberate or wanton conduct by reckless, incompetent, or possibly criminal employees, a large number of serious errors fall into a few specific categories of human error or failure to give due consideration to the content of messages. These types of errors, which range from forgetting an attachment to sending a sensitive message to the wrong addressee, tend to result from e-mail""s ease of use and generally informal usagexe2x80x94often without the review or editing process common to traditional methods of communicationxe2x80x94and are often attributable to the most diligent employees. Nonetheless, they can have consequences ranging from merely inconvenient to devastating, and by detecting them, systems according to the invention can substantially improve efficiency and reduce the damage associated with ill-conceived or ill-considered e-mail messages.